Beware of Malicious Fake Eviction Notice Email

A fake “eviction notice” has been spamming inboxes worldwide, infecting many computers with malware.

We have seen several variants over the past several weeks, including this one, with the subject, “Notice to exit the premises Item No 6110?.”

Eviction notice,

We hereby give you a notice that due to multiple violations your tenancy of the premises you occupy will be terminated on March 01, 2014.

Detailed description of the violations and adjudication are attached herewith.

Unless you vacate the property until March 26, 2014, the Court will provide an order to evict you and require you to pay all the costs incurred in bringing this action.

Court bailiff,
HOLLOWAY Benton

Another variant, with the subject, “Move out urgent notification” has been spotted this week. It reads:

Notice of eviction,

This notice is to inform you that your home has been foreclosed on by the bank and you need to move out until March 21, 2014. To make necessary arrangements you have to contact us in the earliest possible time.

If you decide to cooperate and fulfill you obligations, the bank will offer you a reasonable period of time for moving out. Otherwise, you will be evicted in an administrative proceeding. Please do contact us in the shortest possible time.

Enclosed is the detailed statement of the bank.

Real estate agency,
Sandra Smith

The email did not come from a bank, real estate agent, or mortgage company. It is from a spammer, and the file attached is malware. If you look closely at the emails above, you’ll find that there is no identifying information. In other words, you are not mentioned by name.

In both cases, the emails state that the attached zip file contains further details, or perhaps a statement of some sort. The file, however, is not a statement, but malware which can damage the files on your computer, in some cases rendering it inoperable.

The spammers are likely sending this message out to millions of people, knowing that some readers who may actually be facing eviction will open the attachment. It is similar to the fake funeral notices which we recently discussed.

We have seen an increase in this type of malware distribution in recent months. With malware such as Cryptolocker in circulation, these malicious attachments must be taken seriously, as they can be harmful to your computer.

If you opened the attached file

You should run an antivirus and/or anti-malware application immediately.

Bottom Line

If you have received an “eviction notice” similar to the one above, do not open it. If you did open it, you should run antivirus or anti-malware as soon as possible to prevent damage to the files on your computer.

If you’ve received an email like the examples above, let us know about it in the comments below.